De Carpentier adds edge in Hong Kong

Richard De Carpentier will get the chance to add an edge to his back row skills with England Sevens this month.

The 22 year-old has been added to the squad for two of the biggest events in the HSBC Sevens World Series calendar in Hong Kong (March 22-24) and Tokyo (March 30-31).

“After the end of the LV=Cup period I had a chat with Richard Hill and Nigel Redman and they asked me if I wanted to come to the sevens to hone my skills and improve my fitness; sevens is going to do that for me,” said De Carpentier, who appeared at the Edinburgh sevens for England in 2011.

“My first experience of England Sevens was good but I'd just come straight out of university and found it quite hard on the physical front.

“I hadn't done the weights I've done at Leicester and Worcester and wasn't as fit as I am now. It was interesting and a good experience and I'm looking forward to getting another taste of it now.

“The intensity carries over from your club into here but the mileage these guys do on a weekly basis takes some getting used to.

“The first week I came in we did over 30km which is a shock to the system and to the lungs, so that's the main difference. The intensity's the same and the skill accuracy is maybe better here because everyone has to be passing and catching really well.”

Head coach Ben Ryan said: “I’m really pleased that Worcester have let him come into our set-up to train and play with us. If they want to develop an open side sevens is only going to help him. It’s going to take him out of his comfort zone, he’s got to make good decisions around the breakdown and that’s crucial at the highest level.”

De Carpentier and former Moseley No.8 Mike Ellery are the forwards coming into the squad for Hong Kong where Samoa are England's first Pool C opponents on Friday, March 22 (12.32 GMT). There are two more pool games the following day against Scotland (02:28) and Portugal (08:42) before Saturday’s knock-out stages.

Ellery signed for England Sevens last summer but makes his World Series debut after seven months recovering from a stress fracture in his back.

In his absence England overcame a tough start to the campaign by picking up the Wellington Sevens title last month and are aiming to force their way further up the table in the remaining four events of the season.

Ellery said: “It's been quite hard over the last few months. I've been doing a lot of work with Brett Davison, our conditioner, to get my fitness back and before that I was going into the centre of London to do pilates every day. I have really stiff hips that put pressure on the area where the fracture was, so I've had to alter my running style to even the load out a bit.

“Hong Kong is going to be pretty physical and it's about mentality really. That was the difference in Wellington. In defence we pressed really hard and then in the final you saw Marcus Watson chase back to prevent what looked like a certain try. The boys just wanted it so much. If we get that right again we'll be great.”
 


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